Effectiveness of adalimumab for ambulatory ulcerative colitis patients after failure of infliximab treatment: a first "real-life" experience in primary gastroenterology centers in Italy.

Background: Adalimumab (ADA) is the key treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC) unresponsive or intolerant to standard treatments. Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of ADA in treating ambulatory UC patients in primary gastroenterology centers.

Methods: Fifteen patients (6 male, median age 29.

Managing ambulatory ulcerative colitis patients with infliximab: a long term follow-up study in primary gastroenterology centers.

Background: Infliximab (IFX) is the key treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC) unresponsive to standard treatments. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety of IFX in treating ambulatory UC patients in primary gastroenterology centers.

Methods: One hundred and eighteen patients (65 M, 63 F, median age 34 years, range 19-71 years), affected by UC, were treated with IFX.

Comparison of the effectiveness of infliximab and adalimumab in preventing postoperative recurrence in patients with Crohn's disease: an open-label, pilot study.

Background: Endoscopic and clinical recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD) appears in up to 80 and 30 % of patients, respectively, 1 year after surgery. Both infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing the possibility of recurrence after surgery, but head-to-head studies have not been performed so far. The aim of this open-label prospective study was to compare endoscopic, histological and clinical recurrence after 1 year of treatment with IFX or ADA as postoperative prophylaxis in CD patients with a high risk of recurrence.

Effectiveness and safety of infliximab and adalimumab for ambulatory Crohn's disease patients in primary gastroenterology centres.

Background: Infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) are the key treatments for Crohn's Disease (CD), unresponsive to standard treatments. Our aim was to compare the efficacy and safety of IFX and ADA in treating CD in clinical practice.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-six patients (61 M, 65 F, mean age 36.

Increased diagnostic yield of small bowel tumors with PillCam: the role of capsule endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Italian single-center experience.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare tumors, accounting for 1-3% of all gastrointestinal malignancies; they are, however, the most common gastric and small bowel mesenchymal tumors. The length and relative inaccessibility of the small bowel have long constrained the diagnosis of GISTs mainly presenting with chronic or intermittent bleeding as the sole clinical manifestation.

Aim: To report on the prevalence of small bowel GISTs in a prospectively recorded series of patients undergoing capsule endoscopy (CE).